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Uniting the Southern California Optics Community

The Optical Society of Southern California was founded in 1951 to increase and disseminate the knowledge of optics and closely allied sciences and to promote the mutual interests of investigators, organizations, teachers and students in these fields.

Introduces the fundamental aspects of the science of light using optical components, such as lenses and mirrors. Photonic devices and simple optical systems are introduced. The course includes hands-on use of technical industrial equipment.

LET 215 - Fundamentals of Photonics

UNITS: 3 Thursdays 5:30PM - 9:20 pm

Covers the fundamental aspects of photonics devices, such as lasers, fiber optics, and detectors in optical systems. Focuses on hands-on use of technical, industry-standard equipment.

LET 225 - Quality Assurance for Precision Optics

UNITS: 4 Fridays 5:30pm- 10 pm

Covers the fundamental aspects of fabrication, quality assessment, and measurement of optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, prisms, and coatings. Focuses on hands-on use of technical, industry-standard equipment.

Recent Outreach Event

Many Thanks to our Volunteers that helped with the "What is Light?" display and related Optics Outreach Hands-On demos
at the 6th Annual STEM & The Arts career Showcase
Friday - Sunday April 21 - 23, 2017
at the Orange Count Fair Grounds

Bo Wang and Donn Silberman lead the efforts with Brain Hagerty and his satellite tracking system as a centerpiece. Other volunteers were Dr. Ottavia Golfetto, Nick Lambert, Gabriel Blanks and Emily Sin. And in the exhibit booth next to the OSSC, we had Dr. Brian Monacelli and his Irvine Valley College Laser Technology students.

Optics News

UNESCO announces International Day of Light!

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced its intention to proclaim an annual International Day of Light at their meeting on November 2017. The first celebration will take place on 16 May 2018. Both OSA and SPIE support the event... read more.

Recent OSSC Meetings

Wednesday 14 June 2017OSSC Annual Business Meeting and
A Presentation on:
Superresolution Microscopy:
What is it, how far can it go, and did my professors mislead me?by

Abstract: Most of us heard in college that because of the diffraction limit it is impossible for an optical instrument to image structural details smaller than the wavelength of light. However, the 21st century has seen astounding advances in superresolution fluorescence microscopy techniques. While there are several different approaches to the concept of superresolution, what they all share in common is an ability to exert molecular-scale control over the state of a fluorescent molecule. Consequently, while the lenses and cameras continue to form diffraction-limited focal spots, by combining information on how the state of the molecule was controlled with clever image processing algorithms, we can image cells down to the single-molecule scale, enabling imaging that was considered impossible in the not-too-distant past. Some of the most exciting applications of this work are in the biomedical sciences, but the basic principles are all about physics and statistics, not biology, and can be applied to a wide variety of imaging situations. In this presentation I will explain the principles underlying the various superresolution techniques, and also the fundamental limits that have replaced Abbe’s diffraction limit.

Wednesday 10 May 2017Nexus between government, academia, industry and our professional societies in optics and photonics:
A Panel Discussion

Alan Willner Bruce Tromberg James Fisher Nicolaus Lambert

Background: In October 2014, the OSSC had a very successful event hosted by Corporate Member Precision Optical. We had four (4) distinguished panelist discuss the National Photonics Initiative (NPI) from four different vantage points. After that NPI effort, several government sponsored programs were formed, funded and exceptional results have been realized.

During this meeting, we had one returning panelist and three (3) new voices to provide some updates on NPI and then focus on ways we in Southern California could band together to leverage our efforts in several areas for the benefit of our OSSC Corporate and Individual members and many others in our Southern California Optics and Photonics Communities.

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